The present invention relates to an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type and, more particularly, to a check system for detecting an abnormal ink issuance direction in an ink jet system printer.
Generally, an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type includes a carriage travelling in a lateral direction. An ink droplet issuance unit is mounted on the carriage. A deflection system is employed to deflect travelling ink droplets in a vertical direction, thereby printing a desired symbol in a dot matrix fashion. The deflection amount must be accurately controlled to ensure a clean printing. It will be clear that the direction of the ink droplets emitted from the ink droplet issuance unit must be accurately controlled to ensure the accurate deflection operation.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a check system for detecting the direction of the ink droplets emitted from an ink droplet issuance unit in an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a detection system for detecting the direction of the ink droplets which do not contribute to the actual printing operation in an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
To achieve the above objects, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, a detection system is provided in the course of a recirculation path connected to a beam gutter for detecting whether ink liquid is properly collected by the beam gutter. If the ink liquid is not collected by the beam gutter for more than a preselected period of time, the detection system develops a control signal for indicating the abnormal issuance direction of the ink liquid emitted from the ink droplet issuance unit.